Hello the MLE,

Hope you're doing well and that the snow is gone in Stockholm.  It's been surprisingly nice and dry all year here in London (which is good for our new roof!) and it's starting to feel a bit warmer.

Probably one of the reasons we are such good friends is that we are both nerds.  I sometimes wonder how different my life would be if after my Psychology degree I continued on to med school, as I had prepared for, and became a psychiatrist...  It's funny how a decision made so many years ago can have such a big effect on your life.  Anyway, I still read Psychology books today, though way less nerdy, and sometimes even flaky, ones.

One of my latest finds is the Five Minute Journal.  I've kept a journal regularly since I was 15, but in the past two years I have almost stopped writing completely - so the "five minute" part sounded appealing.  And it really does take only five minutes, it's super simple.

You take one minute out of your day to be grateful for three things.  This is important, as in our culture, it is so easy to want, want, want.  The thinking is that if you appreciate what you have, you will be happier with your life as-is, and happier overall.

Then you take one minute to list three things that would make the day great.  I find this helps prioritize my day.

At the end of the day, you take two minutes to reflect on of three great things that happened, and three things that could have made today better.  I've been doing this for two weeks now, and I've been seeing the same "could have been better" item come up quite often, which has been rather insightful.  Hmmm, need to do something about that...

I skip the "daily affirmations" bit because it's a bit corny for me personally, so I guess that makes it more of a Four Minute Journal.   Anyway, I'll keep going with it for another few months and will let you know how it works out.  So far, I like taking the time out to think like this for a few minutes each day, so I reckon that may stick, though the things I think about may evolve...

From one nerd to another,

Suzan xx